mud mower/bush buggy

[skippyelwell]

I was cleaning out the storage tent and was about to call the scrap guy to come and pick up an old Craftsman lawn tractor that has been sitting out there for years when it occurred to me I needed another project.
The mower owes me nothing, served us well for 20yrs, why not make it into a bush buggy?

Was not surprised to find hundreds of how to vids on Ytube.
Basically, strip off all the extra weight, stretch the wheel base, strengthen the steering components, swap the pulleys from the trans axle and engine, lower the seat, relocate the gas tank an battery.

I had to replace the hydrostatic trans axle with a manual 6 spd but they are cheap and plentiful on marketplace.
Since there is really only one company that makes most of the brands you see for sale, the 6spd bolted right up with no modifications.
This is what I started with,

I wanted to extend the front wheels for a little more stability so cut out the steering cross arm and cradle and welded them on to the front of the frame.

It was only after I completed it that I realized this contraption was going to move a lot faster than it use to so I had better incorporate some caster to keep the speed wobbles away.
I cut the frame and bent it to about 7 degrees of caster and welded plates inside and out side of the frame.

I have ordered some proper rod ends/Heim joints for the steering control rods, they will take the place of the farty little ball in socket joints the mower came with.

Next up was welding the the spider gears together to lock up the rear axle for better traction.

I forgot to take a pic of the finished axle but here is a generic web photo to give you an idea.



This is where I am at the moment, seat is lowered now and starting to work on the exhaust today, I don't want to breathe the exhaust so need to run a pipe to behind the seat.
I also need to fabricate a shelf for the battery and gas tank that will sit behind the seat.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Cool project, looking forward to seeing it come to life. I've got a bunch of old mowers out behind the barn. Some of mine, and I "inherited" Dad's when he moved a couple years ago.....Maybe "someday" I'll get to building one too....

 

[Upnorth]

I ran across these recently on youtube while looking up information on vintage mowers. It's seems like something that is not very practical but at the same time seems like a fun project. I have a vintage 1975 mower here in the shop. I don't think I could bring myself to convert it because it still mows well. It does need a new motor though. I might actually tackle fixing the original one again. I had it running and mowing a few times. My other mower is a well used STX38 john deere that would probably be a suitable candidate for this.

 

[skippyelwell]

I got the exhaust finished, gas tank mounted, brakes are working now and started in on the steering shaft.
Unlike most of the mud mowers other guys put together, I'm keeping the muffler, I even stuffed a bunch of fiberglass fabric in before welding it up, no desire to piss off the neighbors.
I picked up this go cart seat that has better lateral support but so far I haven't been able to come up with slider to make it adjustable like the original seat.

I ran across these recently on youtube while looking up information on vintage mowers. It's seems like something that is not very practical but at the same time seems like a fun project.

It's going to be practical for me, the shape of my property is ridiculous, 200ft x 2200ft.
I haven't been to the back of the lot in ten years, this buggy is going to change all that.